Diet Pitfalls - How to Avoid Them

Trying to lose weight? Here are some tips for avoiding common diet pitfalls.

Sometimes the simplest things can derail your diet plans. This Thursday, a lot of people will be trying to balance their weight loss goals with the overabundance of Thanksgiving food. But here are some diet pitfalls you may not expect.

• Morning workouts. Actually, morning workouts are a great thing -- they boost your metabolism and get your day started on the right foot. But don't sacrifice sleep for that early morning workout. People who get a proper amount of sleep are able to maintain a healthy weight more easily. So if you want a morning workout, be sure to get to sleep earlier.
• Trying to lose with exercise alone. Exercise is an important component of weight loss. But to lose weight, you must cut calories as well.
• You ignore sarcopenia. Huh? Sarco-what-a? Essentially, sarcopenia is age-related muscle loss. It's important to build up your muscles with strength training. You've heard it before -- muscles burn more calories than fat. So do your cardio, but don't forget strength and flexibility exercises, too.

For more diet pitfalls, check out this AOL Health slideshow.